Last weekend, my brother and I went to see The Space Between Us. All of the trailers I had seen (well, the ones that had aired on television XD) looked really good, and I thought the entire concept was fascinating!

***WARNING: There will be some spoilers below, so if you want to have a 100% spoiler-free review, skip down to the very, very last paragraph***

With that said, on to the review!

Like I said earlier, I thought the concept was quite interesting – I had never even thought about that before, and so it was interesting to think about the real logistics of someone who had been born on Mars: how would it effect their growth? Organs? Social interaction? What would their life be like?

The main character, Gardner Elliot, brought up all these questions…because he was surprise! born on Mars. Yep. How’s that for a unique birth?

Flash-forward sixteen years. Gardner has been raised by scientists on Mars, and therefore is pretty much a science genius (I have a feeling Tony/Bruce/Peter and him would all get along amazingly). His only contact with Earth, is a girl named Tulsa. They communicate once a day, and all she knows (regarding why they haven’t met), is that he has a disease that causes him to be unable to leave his home.

His “mother” (not biological, since she died in childbirth), Kendra, realizes that it’s time to bring Gardner back to Earth. Even if he doesn’t survive, she has come to the rightful conclusion that it is not fair to keep him from Earth any longer.

And so begins the process of procedures and physical therapy to prepare Gardner for Earth. During this, he tells Tulsa that they have found a cure for his “disease” which will allow him to finally leave his “home” and meet her. He also mentions that there will be some travel involved. Space travel. Aka…seven months with no communication with her.

Thus, when Gardner finally found Tulsa at her school, and he was all ‘hey Tulsa! It’s me! Gardner.’ Tulsa was pretty much like…

First impressions, right? XD

Anyway, quick note here, when Gardner came to Earth, they ran a ton of tests on him, and he realized that if something was not exactly right, or as it should be, they were going to send him back to Mars. Naturally, Gardner did not want to go back, and having the brilliant mind that he does, he managed to cause a pressure distraction and escaped the facility.

Cue all his caretakers and the other scientists/astronauts freaking out.

Nathaniel Shepherd, the man who had started this, is going off to find Gardner along with Kendra. They are determined to locate him, no matter what.

Meanwhile, Gardner and Tulsa are hanging out, when SURPRISE! Nathaniel and Kendra show up in a helicopter.

Gardner is not about it. He starts running away from them, with Kendra chasing and Nathaniel jumping in the black SUV. They think they will have no problem catching him, but what they did not count on, was Tulsa picking up Gardner in one of those plane’s that farmers use.

And off they go, leaving Nathaniel and Kendra behind. Through the rest of the movie, the two teens go on a cross-country road trip trying to locate Gardner’s father, who he found with a picture of his mother on a hard drive.

There are so many cute moments, and a very Peeta-Katniss vibe between Gardner and Tulsa. She has this tough outer shell and does not open up easily to other people, because of how many times she’s been hurt. He, on the other hand, lacks any normal social skills and has this naivety that is very innocent and sweet. Yet, there is a major problem…

His Heart.

Gardner’s heart, because he was born on Mars, is too big. It cannot handle Earth’s gravity or atmosphere.

Gardner is dying.

One of the scenes, reminded me of a cancer patient. When you know you are going to die anyway, and that there is nothing anyone can do for you, some people go one of two ways: a) try to do the treatments that doctors prescribe that will hopefully let them live longer, or b) forgo all such in the decision to live as much as they can, while they still have time.

And that’s what Gardner decides. So, he and Tulsa manage to sneak out of the hospital and high-tail it out of that town. They are back on the road-trip to find Gardner’s father.

I don’t want to spoil the HUGE twist-around, so I’ll skip that part 😉

Overall, I thought The Space Between Us was a great movie. It was centered around an interesting concept, and had both romance, sci-fi, and humor. There were some really cute scenes and funny moments! A great romance, sci-fi story.

So, have any of y’all seen The Space Between Us? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

Belle: Belle is a young woman who has a love for reading. She enjoys delving into stories and exploring far-off lands with princes and princesses, through only her imagination. Belle has hazel eyes and brown hair; personality-wise, she is determined, smart, stubborn, introspective, and caring. Sadly, her mother is dead and she is an only child living with her quaint father.

Prince Adam/Beast: Adam is a boy-turned-beast. For ten years, he has been confined to a curse that he brought on himself – with only one way to escape…love. He is an emotional person, and used to doing whatever he wants – at least in the beginning. In his human form, he has blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair, while in his beast form, he is much larger and covered in fur.

Gaston: Gaston is what we would probably call the “it” guy of the town. He thinks very highly of himself and has an ego bigger than his brains, which, it seems he lacks much of anyway. He has black hair and is muscular, causing many of the town girls to swoon.

Maurice: Maurice is Belle’s father. He enjoys tinkering with different inventions and finding new ways to make things work. He believes in his daughter and encourages her in her dreams. He is short and has a little bit of white hair.

Point of View

The narrator tells the story in a third-person point of view.

Setting

The setting is set in France. I’m not exactly sure what time period, but I would guess sometime during the 1700s or 1800s.

Plot Outline

Beauty and the Beast is a story about a young woman, with a love for reading, who is looked on as unusual in her town. Her father, an aspiring inventor in France, leaves on a short trip, yet when he takes a wrong turn, Maurice ends up in a dark forest…and a castle. Naturally, Belle is worried when he does not return with the horse, and so, she goes after him. Arriving at the castle, she is horrified to see not only her father in a cell – but a gigantic…beast! Courageously, she offers to take her father’s place, in order to let him go free. The beast agrees, and so begins their relationship of mystery, struggle, and perhaps, love.

Conflict

Conflicts in the story would be man vs. man (ex: when the Beast and Gaston fight, and the disagreements between Belle and the Beast) and man vs. himself (ex: the Beast learning to not be as selfish and love someone). I think, however, the main conflict would be man vs. man, since much of the story is about Belle and the Beast learning to interact civilly, and then affectionately, towards one another.

Theme

I think two themes of Beauty and the Beast would be one, to see beyond someone’s outer surface and to who they really are inside; secondly, love is sacrifice (Belle taking her father’s place, the Beast saving her from the wolves and letting Belle go).

Literary Devices

Literary devices used in the story include personification – the animated household objects, metaphor – the prince being turned into a Beast, reflected his selfishness inside, and the characterization – how both the Belle and Beast’s viewpoints of each other changes from the beginning to the end.

Feedback

I love this story. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite stories in all of literature, as well as Belle being one of my favorite female characters (yay for reading!). I think there are so many layers to this story, if you even think about it more in-depth. There is looking beyond the outer surface – loving someone not for their physical beauty, but for their spirit, mind, and character; the sacrifice that love requires – the Beast letting Belle go, even though he might not ever see her again, and how our actions affect those around us – the curse affected not only the Beast, but all of his servants as well. I think it is a beautiful picture of a redemption tale, as well as, a stunning love story. I would rate this as 5 stars.